Trips to hell and heaven
by Xedie
Summary: When her whole family is killed, Hermione goes wrong and will reveal secrets that should have stayed that way. But will she find her way back from the Dark Side on time?
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Harry Potter and his world belong to J K Rowling. No money is made out of this story, just fun.

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Trips to hell and heaven.

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Prologue: Everything goes wrong.

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Hermione was sitting on the roof of the Astronomy Tower. The night was alight with thousands of stars and the full moon was high in the sky. But the light within Hermione's eyes had gone out hours ago and her tears had dried in the cold wind of winter. Her sight was fixed on the lake, down on the Hogwarts Grounds. The spectacle of the light shimmering on the water was truly magical but she wasn't seeing it. What she was seeing were only the darkest patches, where the water was so deep that you needed magic to go all the way down. Her mind was still in overdrive, trying to process what she had been told that morning. She was supposed to take the train back to London. But she had been called to the Headmaster's office at the last minute…

_"Hermione. I've just received this."_

_The Headmaster was looking sad, the twinkling in his eyes absent. Hermione took the letter and knew as soon as she saw the Ministry of Magic's blazon on the envelope. She still opened it and read the letter._

_"Of course, you can stay here for Christmas. I've already ordered your things back in your room."_

_Hermione nodded and walked out, the letter clutched in her hand._

The letter was still there. Hermione had been sorely tempted to rip it into tiny pieces, to forget about it, to deny what it told her. But she knew that it was true. She was now alone. She didn't any family anymore. She hadn't imagined that the pain would be so sharp. She didn't think her rage would be so fierce. Her parents had told her about the party they were organising: her aunts, uncles and cousins would be there when she would arrive to celebrate Hermione being chosen as the Head Girl. And all of them would spend Christmas together. She was supposed to meet the lot of them at King's Cross. She had warned her parents years ago. They knew a war was coming. They knew it wouldn't be fought only by the wizarding world. They knew they would be casualties among the Muggles as well. Hermione had told them to go away for a while. They hadn't listened, unwilling to leave her face this war alone. But now she was alone.

"The Headmaster forbad me from ducking points for your behaviour during the holidays. But sitting on the roof of this tower would be a good reason to do so tonight."

The sarcastic comment didn't even reach Hermione. She had grown use to Severus Snape's nasty comment over the years. As a matter of fact, she didn't even care about losing points for her House. The occasion was too good and the need to let out some of her anger too powerful.

"Well, it's too bad Snape cause you've just handed me the chance I've been waiting for seven years. You're nothing but a mean, heartless, pathetic, cheating piece of sh…"

"I can make your life a real nightmare so I would advise you not to finish that sentence, Miss Granger."

"Or else what? You're going to give me detention. I'm so scared. Maybe I should run and hide."

Hermione jumped from the roof onto the stoned floor, without realising that she would never had been able to do so without her wand in normal times. She walked up to Snape and looked deep into his black eyes.

"My life is already a nightmare, Snape. And honestly, I don't think you can understand."

"That's where you're wrong, Miss Granger, because I've been to in a very similar place to the one you're found yourself in today."

"And I guess that's why Dumbledore sent you to talk to me." Hermione said derisively, walking to the edge of the tower.

Snape just nodded, his smile matching the tone of her voice.

"We are quite different, Miss Granger." Snape said, dropping his usual sarcastic tone for a more thoughtful one. "The solution I had found at the time probably wouldn't work with you. But I think I know you enough to tell you this: if you find that your friends are not enough to help you, maybe your thirst for knowledge could."

Hermione swiftly turned round, her eyes fixed on the Potion Master.

"Actually, I think you might be right, Professor. Thank you."

Hermione ran past the quite amazed Snape and all the way back to her room. As this year Head Girl, she had some privileges, like her private room next to the Library. Once there, she rushed to her trunk, searching for the book that could very well be the key to her plan. She finally found her worn out copy of _Hogwarts: a history_. The page she wanted was marked and a particular part of it was highlighted in bright yellow.

_It is general belief that the Founders, after Slytherin's departure, did not stay long at the school. In fact, Gryffindor was spotted several times in __Africa__ shortly after. Hufflepuff is said to have gone to __France__ and helped with the creation of __Beauxbatons__Academy__. Slytherin disappeared for a while and finally turned up in __Romania__. Ravenclaw is said to have travel around the world before settling in __Japan_

_Legend wants that the Founders put aside the different points of view one last time just before their deaths and went back to Hogwarts to protect as their most precious belongings. Many have searched for what these could be, but they have stayed concealed, as well hidden as the infamous Chamber of Secrets itself._

"I knew it."

Hermione went to her bedside table and grabbed the book there. She quickly went through the pages, looking for that particular paragraph. She smiled as she finally found what she was looking for.

_It is very difficult to understand how Hogwarts was built. Of course, the Founders were probably very powerful witches and wizards, and they were the four of them, but they had to have helped to construct such a big and magical building. The fact is they were living about at the same time as another group of powerful magical people: Merlin, Vivian Dulac, Morgan Le Fay and Mordred Pendragon. It is true that the second group is said to have lived earlier, but no one has ever recorded their deaths. It is so possible that the Founders had the help of those other four._

_In favour of this theory is the school motto 'Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus'. If Gryffindor's blazon was a lion, Slytherin's a snake, Hufflepuff's a badger and Ravenclaw's an eagle, then why talk about a dragon in the motto? Maybe as a hidden thank to the Pendragon wizards and witches, whose blazon was actually a dragon._

Hermione closed the book with a smile, recollecting several other bits of reading she had done, putting the pieces of this magical jigsaw together.

"Yes, the Pendragon clan certainly helped. But there is a lot more to it than that."

And as Hermione was getting ready to go to bed, a light was shining again in her eyes: pitiless, blazing revenge in soulless and dead brown eyes.

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	2. There's only power

Chapter 1: There's only power…

Hermione looked up as Harry and Ron entered the Library. She wasn't surprised to see them, since she had left the dormitories two hours earlier and they knew very well where she would be. She had spent most of her time in here, both during the holidays and since the start of the New Year, and she thought they were now starting to understand that something was very wrong with her.

"Have you gone down for breakfast already?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Hermione lied.

She was becoming impressively good at this. Most of the time, her two best friends didn't see through. But when she saw Ron frowned, Hermione changed the subject.

"I hope you remembered that essay Snape gave us yesterday."

Both young men pulled a face and Hermione secretly smiled. This was by far the best way to get away from her friend compassion. The three of them had decided to keep studying Potions after their 5th year. Snape hadn't been too happy when he had learned it. But he was a lot fairer now that he had been during those five years he had to teach them, even if he was still a mean git with Harry.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, Ron. Don't worry too much about me. I'm fine."

The two young men looked very dubious, but they finally nodded and walked out to go and get their breakfasts. Hermione cracked her knuckles as she looked down at her work. She had finally learned most of what she needed to do what she wanted. But she was still missing an important piece of her puzzle; a piece she absolutely needed if she wanted to succeed in taking her revenge. But she seemed to be unable to find it, even if she had spent the last two days on this riddle. The reward was too great for Hermione to let it go. The only way she could think of was to ask Harry, but he would certainly think it strange that his friend wanted to learn Parseltongue. After all, it was a dark wizard attribute.

Hermione sighed as she found out that she couldn't focus on her studies anymore. She threw her books inside her bag and left the Library and left. She hadn't made three steps that she heard Draco Malfoy's voice coming her way. Instantly, her anger surfaced. Her first thought was to attack him and make him pay for what his family and their friends had done to her. Hermione was finding those pulses more difficult to control each time. Not that she really wanted to control them, but killing the hair of the Malfoy family would attract far too much attention on her. And Hermione wanted to be innocent looking for as long as possible.

So, she decided to turn round and went down the stairs leading to the corridor where she knew she would find the Room of Requirement. But she suddenly felt the presence of the Headmaster around it. Hermione stopped dead in her tracks once more. The Headmaster was another one who shouldn't know what she was doing. He would feel obliged to try and prevent her from avenging her family, in particular following the path she had chosen. He had probably a fair idea of what she was up to already, since it was becoming very hard to approach the magic room.

Hermione growled her frustration. But she still had an option. So she went for the stairs leading to the Entrance Hall. She made sure that no one saw her from the Great Hall and run outside. She quickly made her way for the edge of the lake. She would have liked to go all the way to the forest but she had to go to class in less than half an hour.

When she arrived there, it was to find Crookshanks waiting for her. The ginger cat had transformed quite a lot since his mistress's parents' death. He was now refusing that anyone apart from Hermione touches him. And he was also a lot more absent, going into the Dark Forest by himself and often not returning before a few days. Hermione was suspecting that, by loyalty to her, Crookshanks had turned to the other way as his mistress has done. And the young woman really hoped she was right, because she really loved that cat. She dropped her books on the ground, sat down and Crookshanks jumped onto her lap.

"So, my love, what are you up to?"

Crookshanks meowed his answer and Hermione couldn't help but smiled. She sat there, petting her friend and reviewing what she had learnt, what she needed to learn and what she should do to learn.

"What are you doing here, Miss Granger?"

Hermione clenched her jaws together to prevent the snappy retort to escape her mouth. Instead, she turned her head to look at her Potions Master.

"Waiting for my school day to begin."

Snape raised an eyebrow.

"The Headmaster seems to think you need to talk."

"We both know you don't really want to be here. And more, you're hardly the person I would confide to."

"Ten points off Gryffindor for that remark."

Hermione just smiled at the older man and wasn't surprised to see a smirk on her Professor's face. She hadn't told anyone, but she was actually starting to like that man, most probably because she had realised a couple of weeks ago that she was acting more and more like he was. And it seemed that Severus Snape liked the change at least as much as her.

"You're turning Slytherin."

"Maybe I should ask to be re-Sorted."

'Merlin, no! I have enough troubles with Malfoy, I don't want to be stuck with the school know-it-all."

Crookshanks suddenly stood up and started walking toward the Forest. Hermione smiled at this and stood up as well.

"That's our cue. School is starting. I'll see you this afternoon."

"Please, remind the two others that my essay is due today."

"Already done, Professor."

Hermione started running toward the castle. She ran straight for her Transfiguration class. She was nearly there when she realised that she had left her bag next to the lake. She swore softly, knowing that any Professors hearing her would knock points off Gryffindor for it. She didn't have time to run back to get her things. She looked around and made up her mind.

"_Accio _bag."

She didn't wait long before her bag arrived flying. She smiled happily: those small bits of magic were now easy for her, even wandless. She caught it and quickly made her way to the Transfiguration classroom. She sighed as she realised that she now had to wait until tonight before she could go back to the Library and try and finish her research.

Hermione was sitting in Potions class, writing away as Professor Snape was pointing out the different ways of using dragon blood in Potions. She could hear Harry and Ron's quilts scratching their parchments behind her. Malfoy was just sitting there, knowing that Snape wouldn't say anything. It was while she was watching her enemy from the corner of her eye that Hermione realised the obvious: Snape was most probably the only other one in Hogwarts who would be able to teach her Parseltongue. After all, he had been a servant to Voldemort and was now spying him. He had to have picked up some of the snake language. Or at least, he would know how to learn it. Hermione knew it would look too suspicious if she was staying behind. So she decided to risk going after the curfew.

After spending the whole evening alone in her rooms, Hermione walked quietly out at 1 o'clock in the morning. She stretched her power around her, sensing the corridors as she walked so she could avoid Filch and his damn cat. She made her way down to the dungeons in this manner. When she finally arrived there, she was tired but still ready to carry her plan out. Hermione walked to the Potions classroom and entered quietly. She knew that the classroom led to Snape's office, and his office to his personal quarters. The office's door opened up with a simple _Alohomora_. Hermione already knew, for having spent long hours in detentions there, that nothing in here would help her. But she also knew how to get into Snape's quarters.

The portrait hiding the door to Snape's private rooms was a painting of a giant green and silver snake. It was watching as Hermione approached.

"The owner is not here."

"Good. Peace."

The giant snake shook its head.

"I have to let you pass since you have the right password. But be warned."

Hermione shrugged and entered the room. Snape's personal library was now hers to search. She quickly looked at the names on the covers of all those books, getting a feeling of how they were grouped. She found the Potions section, which was taking up two entire shelving units. A slightly smaller section was devoted to literature, and Hermione was quite surprised to see several Muggle writers there, both classic and contemporary. The final unit was what Hermione would have called miscellaneous, all the books talking about different brands of magic. Hermione scan-read through the section to finally found what she was looking for. She took the small black book only to find out it was Snape himself who had written it. And in it, Hermione found phonetic transcriptions of Parseltongue. The young woman took the book, arranging the shelf so Snape wouldn't see straight away that one of his books was missing.

Then, she started her walk back to her private room. She had some night reading to do…

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